Improvement in clamps for planking- ships



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aiwt 'Gtililira Letters Patent No.y 93,241, dated August 3, 1869;

IMPROVEMENT IN cLAMPs PoR PLANKING SHIPS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all lwhom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, -PELEG STAPLES, of Stockton,I in the county of Waldo, and State of Maine, have invented anew and improved Apparatus for Plankiug Ships; land I do hereby declare that the following is va full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specilication, in which- Figure 1 is a'plan view of a ships side, showing the ribs, and the planking in process of application;

'Figure 2 is a` part of a transversel section through the ship, showing the moans by which the planking is brought up to the ribs;

Figure 3 is alsopalt of a transverse section, showing the means by which the planking is heldfast to the ribs before vbolting; and

Figure 4 is a side elevation, showing the application of a screw to a particular part of a plank.

This invention consists in the application of various mechanical powers to the process of bending plankiug so as to make it conform to the curve of a ships side, at the time the planking is attached tothe ribs, among which powers may be enumerated the wiudlass, the screw, the pulley, andthe wedge, conjoinedwith certain clamps for holding the planks so bent, whereby a very laborious manual operation is converted into a very easy mechanical 011e, `aud a vast amount of time and labor saved.

au, &c., represent a ships ribs'.

B isa plank, about to be fastened to the side. This process begins by bolting one end of the plank to the rib. As no part of a ships side is straight, it is evi` dent that wherever one cud of a plank may be bolted,

the other end will stand off from the side 'to a greater or less distance, according to the curvature. In order to correct this tendency ofthe plank, I attach a windpurpose.

I also pass a metallic loop, c, over thc free endof the plank, which vloop I connect with the windlass '7), by means of' a hempcn cable, chain, or rope, the cable passing through a sheavc, d, secured to the ships side in some place, such that it may be made to assist in the process of drawing thcplank into contact with the ribs, which process is carried out by working the windlass through the medium ofthe bar l1',

'I he plank, having been thus bent into proper shape and position, is secured, before spiking, by clamps, each of which consists of' an iron bar, e,with prongs at its ends, bent at right angles to the bar, by vmeans of which it is fastened to the flank of the rib, the said bar being vitself but a cross-piece upon thc head of another bar, c', projecting from itat right angles, the said bar e having, at its opposite'extremity, a T- shaped piece,

e, parallel, in its general directiomwith the bar e.

Between the cross-piece of the bar e and the rib, the

' plank is hcld firmly by a wedge until spiked.

In case any part of a plank stands olf further from the side than it should, or is cracked at any particular' point, andtherefore needs to be forced up, I'make use for this purpose, of a clamp of peculiar construction, consisting of a large T-piece, l1, with prongs ou the ends of its cross-piece, by means of which the latter is,

fastened, like the bare, into the flank of' a rib, andA provided, at the extremity of' the part which projects from between the ribs, with. a swivelllng-eye,h,1in which is placed the hook that is formed on the endof the bar h", which bar is bent at right angles, vand'is furnished, at its opposite extremity, with a threaded eye, through which is passed a screw-bolt, It ,ha-ving a sliding handle in its outer end, that serves in turning the screw. v` i v A wooden glut is placed against thepart of the plank requiring compression, and the screw-bolt h turned up to it, and made to force it against'the plank until the latter is closely pressedagaiust the rib.

Braces, tlahaving sprs at one end for driving into the ribs, are j ointed at their other ends to the angle of the bent bar h", so as to firmly hold the same against all pressure.

Inse wedges, as seen in fig. 1, filling the space between the brackets, clamps, r/c., and the next rib,`iu order to firmly secure the former to the. rib to which theyare attached. The wedges may-be of any width,

from three-quartersof an inch to one vfoot or more,ac

coi'din g to whether the clamps are placed inthe narrow space between the two parts of each rib, or between the ribs themselves.

Before applying planks tothe bow, stern, o r other degree of curvature before they become cold, as then it is impossible to bend them. With my apparatus,

this process can be performed with ease, in less than half the time required by the present method, and one man, stationed at thewindlass at' `thefrce end of the plankcan do the work of six men applying their manual labor to a rope or tackle, in the best way they can under the circumstances, which are very disadvantageous at the best. The windlass is used only upon the outside ofthe ship.

l For applying ceiling' or inside plankiug, I use the clamp h, causing it to project inside the vessel instead f outside. It is obvious, that to get a plank in position 4in the ceiling, its two ends have rst to be placed against the inside ofthe vessel where the plank is the chord subte ding an arc, and that the centre has then to be sprungl inward to nieetthe side. To accomplish this object, I take a clamp, h, and place inrits eye aY bent bar, h", of the proper length, often from six to ten feet, and secure the bar with the braces k k, and then apply the screw-bolt h to the insidegof the plank, and force it up. This is a part of the building of a vessel which has always been, by the old methods, very difficult of accomplishment, owing to the fact that there has never been any'apparatus that could be applied to the, centre of the plank, it having always been found necessary to work from the ends toward 'the centre.i

My apparatus veffects the cud in view in an extremely easy and expeditious' manner.

A further advantage, resulting from the nse'of the clanips'herein described, is that the spiking, heretofore' found necessary for fastening the planks before the Atreenailsean be put in, may be 4almost entirely dispensed with, thus effecting a saving, in constructing a ship of one thousand tons, of at least one hundred dollars.

Having thusdescribed my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure-by Let- 'ters Patent, is-

` 1. The apparatus consisting essentially of the T-piece '70, provided with prongs and with the swivelling-eye h', 

